Trump seems to be playing by Nixon’s ‘madman theory’ of leadership
No current political leader is as stupid or crazy as Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump seem to be. Nobody. These guys are cleverly and systematically swamping the world with the utter madness of trivial issues like wiretapping and nuclear threats to cover up their real ambitions. The public, networks and media are locked onto the resulting fake news.
What we need to worry about is the shadow news — their real motives. We must avoid being victims of their apparent madness. Unlike their mimics, these guys really do have their hands on weapons of our ultimate, collective destruction. We can only hope that saner folks among their circles and allies will prevail for our sake and that of generations to come.
For what it is worth, President Richard Nixon called this practice “the madman theory” of leadership. Others are said to have referred to it as “street lighting.”
Randal L. Cruikshanks, San Luis Obispo
This story was originally published April 16, 2017 at 12:30 PM with the headline "Trump seems to be playing by Nixon’s ‘madman theory’ of leadership."